Film: Citizen Kane

[Benefit]

For one, you never really understand what some of Kane's motivations are. Like, Kane goes from idealist to meglomaniac but never understand why.

Kane's motivations are, arguably, very clear. He is one of the wealthiest and most powerful men on Earth, a capitalist titan who can impose his will on other men and society at large. He wants to control foreign policy, the media, the working class, his friends, and his lovers. In the beginning, when he is young, he does this, ruling his kingdom with total power cloaked in idealism. But, in fact, he is not truly an idealist. He defends the working class not out of an altruistic desire to improve social conditions, but to safeguard his own interests by earning the good will of the people. In the 1920s and 1930s, with the rise of organized labor, Kane begins to lose some of that control.

Ultimately, he loses control over everything, even his second wife, the poor working class girl who he ushered into the world of elite society. If he was going to rule over any one person completely, it would have been her. But he cannot form her into the singer he envisions and she eventually rejects him. His friends also reject him, as does the public at large. He pursues his vision all the way to his own destruction. Like Jay Gatsby, Charles Foster Kane is consumed by a perversion of the American Dream. He has too much power, too much wealth, and it ruins him.

The brilliance of the screenplay is that this progression is never explictly broken down. The screenplay defies rigid notions of character development. Kane goes from youthful idealist to grumpy old curmudgeon; but it's not so simple. He's a little bit of both at all times plus a lot of other things, and Orson Welles' superb acting really delves the complexity of the character and brings him to life without the need for clumsy exposition.

Secondly, how does anyone know his last words were "rosebud" when he was alone in the room when he said it. You can see the nurse walking in only after he drops the snowglobe.

This can hardly be considered a flaw. All movies require some willing suspension of disbelief. But in any event, it was the butler who reported those were his last words and the movie does not state whether the butler was in the room or not.

 

[supertrav77]

Kane's motivations are, arguably, very clear. He is one of the wealthiest and most powerful men on Earth, a capitalist titan who can impose his will on other men and society at large.

Yeah, I know the plot. My point was that I don't think movie really explains WHAT made him abandon his principles. It couldn't be the corrupting power of money because he came from wealth and inherited his initial wealth.
Don't get me wrong, I think it's a great movie. I think the praise for it is a little over the top.

 

[skywise]

^^ (in response to benefit) Actually, that would be a flaw (if it's true, I've never noticed it before). Logic gaps in the story-telling are unnecessary and it is almost certain that in this case Welles didn't do it on purpose.

With that said, the film certainly is innovative and truly great. The history behind the film is incredibly interesting as well. It should be mentioned, however, that a lot of the innovations of Citizens Kane weren't a first in film so much as they were a first for a Hollywood film.

 

[ego_loss]

I am pulling this thread out of the dustbin. I've been watching the DVD almost every day for the past week or so and it's completely re-awakened my love for cinema.

Regarding the statements about Kane's transformation from young idealist to grumpy old man

For one, you never really understand what some of Kane's motivations are. Like, Kane goes from idealist to meglomaniac but never understand why.

The entire movie is an exploration of this very transformation. You know "the story" from the very beginning. The rest of the movie is the little bits in between the headlines... the parts that actually defined the character.

The thing to bear in mind is that Citizen Kane fit a man's entire life into a feature length. I am sure that, if they had the time, Welles and Mankiewicz could have written the screenplay to portray the transformation, but the movie could only be so long... so the transformation was condensed into the breakfast montage.

However, you can see the subtleties of the transformation long before this montage. The first "deep focus" shot when he signs off control of his empire to the trustees... "which means we're bust"... this was a flash-forward within a flash-back in a way. He was already an old man but it was before we really knew his motivations.



This movie broke a lot of new ground, that cannot be denied. However, I believe that it's real magic is in the very basic story. The amazing cinematography, the acting, the special effects... all of it, it is all secondary to the story. It's an amazing screenplay. It really is absolutely brilliant. It's so engaging and perfectly told.